The obedience classes have started, he is brilliant, really is, he is another dog as soon as the dog trainer shows up, although Bobby needs to be socialised I've opted for having him doing basic training with our own trainer to build up his confidence (both in him and in humans), so that when we go into classes he is more confident on himself to be able to deal with all the other dogs that might be noisy or just plain scary.
He is also doing agility and guess what... He is great also!!!! The agility class is done in a dog school nearby with other dogs (for socialisation - as the class is very small, and learning from other dogs by watching) and is in an old building so the Winter will no stop our fun :) This is also good because the other dogs in this class are all well balanced, happy and relaxed and they are older than Bobby so he can learn by example (except for the young silly lab that also does agility).
Bobby was very scared and in panic as soon as we entered in the building, and there was a moment when he actually jumped on my lap(!?!) - I was sitting in a chair and suddenly my little personal 20 kg "monster" jumped on my lap in fear and hid his face on my neck under my hair, i just gave him a hug, a stoke, and put him back on the floor, sitting him between my legs and letting him feel I was there.
When our turn came, the dog trainer was also there with us and she was really great she helped me give Bobby the assurance he needed, to go through it all, he was not impressed I must confess...
The second time he still did not understand what was expected from him for most the way but the weave and the jumps in the end were great, and from that moment onwards he was just relaxed but paying loads of attention to the dogs that were going through the obstacles and only to the dogs that were doing the obstacle course (and not to the silly young lab sitting next to him), you could see in eyes that he was learning and enjoying himself.
The third time he did the tire he was just right, the tunnel as well, his main problem was the A frame, the other tunnel was really good as well and the dog walk (that initialy was a massive problem as well) started being a place to have a treat and a sit and wait (give us a break :) we are in the beginning we are allowed to sit and have a treat in the dog walk :)) and even the sisó (?!) was done really well, the weave continued being great and so were the jumps and in the end, of course, the table he really liked jumping on the table in the end.
We did the obstacle course several times and in the end the major problem was still the A frame but we will get there.
By the end of the evening I had a very very happy dog sitting in the car, asking me if he could go again :) So to tie all this work I just need a behaviourist, but that is being sorted as well so I'm happy.
His recall is already at 100% (he already listens to me instead of jumping in all the smelly mud bogs in the park) but I do not risk him around children and fast paced movement as I know he likes to nip at children, he also likes to bite mothers in law (he bit Mr. C's mum 2 weeks ago - she was moving too fast near him - herding instinct came up, I failed to read his anxiety and he just went under the dinner table and bite her - a neighbour asked me if I had trained him to do so while laughing).
He still pulls a little bit on the walk, but I am a woman with a lot of time to walk and with cheese and cocktail sausages in my pocket so the command watch me works wonders when you have sausages or cheese, I also started working off the lead - as soon as he comes to me and walks next to me just because he wants I give him a bit of sausage and cheese - he is learning that walking close to me is good even without the lead. So when off the lead he does a part of the walk just walking near me (which I think is great as well). He started refusing his own biscuits (maybe too much cheese and sausages) but I'll get him to eat his food again (but i also think he went off it because I made the mistake of giving him bits of salmon cooked in the oven with just a bit of lemon juice as seasoning, and bit of chicken Kiev... would you eat dry silly biscuits when there is salmon and chicken Kiev around?... Well nor does Bobby :)).
Bobby still needs a lot of work and Mr. C and I are talking about moving him to sleep with us in our bedroom, he always stayed downstairs, but we have been told that dogs do everything with their pack (including sleep) and it will help his confidence if he sleeps in our bedroom (not sure about his possessiveness of Mr. C), we will make the invitation for him, if he prefers to come downstairs to his crate then that is his choice but our bedroom will also be an option.
Today unfortunately a dog attacked Bobby in the park, it was not a full on attack, but all I could see was a mean dog attacking my puppy (I know he is not a puppy...), It was a dog out of control, the 1st time we saw the dog we kept him away, after that we kept on moving and a while later (Bobby stayed behind on a scent) we heard the other dog charging at Bobby, we went back, the other dog made Bobby fall, he fell and yelped and the other dog just growled and put Bobby on the ground again, I thought he had bitten Bobby. By the time Bobby yelped Mr. C was already close to them so he managed to get hold of the other dog, but could not prevent the escalation of the attack. I concentrated on getting Bobby to come to us as all he wanted to do was run.
He came back and we got him to calm down and we moved on after Mr. C handed over the out of control dog to the owner. I've already checked Bobby for bites and he has no signs of any bite or sore skin, I'm afraid this might cause a set back on his confidence but we are here for him, and I'll keep an eye out for that dog or any dog that might charge at Bobby, I'll just get in the way and they'll have to bump into my legs, not on Bobby (my puppy).
The Park is really good at 8 am (today was 10 am) so I'll go back to walking Bobby in the park at 8 am.
And now Bobby is just resting in front of us on his bed and sometimes he just gives us the puppy look :)
